Delaware
Delaware Tourism Office Announces Latest Round of Sports Tourism Capital Investment Fund Awardees – State of Delaware News
DOVER, Del. – Today, the Delaware Tourism Office announced Sports Tourism Capital Investment Fund awards to five Delaware sports facilities. Established through the Fiscal Year 2024 Bond and Capital Improvements Act, the fund provides financial support to new or existing sports facilities that hold events throughout the year to attract out-of-state visitors and contribute to the state and local economy.
The Delaware Tourism Office accepted applications for the fund from Aug. 1 through Sept. 13, 2024. The office received 17 applications requesting more than $47 million. Available funds totaled $10 million.
Applications were reviewed by a panel, including the co-chairs of the Joint Capital Improvement Committee, Sen. Jack Walsh and Rep. Debra Heffernan, and representatives of the Delaware Tourism Office, the Greater Wilmington Convention and Visitors Bureau, Kent County Tourism, and Southern Delaware Tourism. The panel met on Oct. 24 to begin reviewing the applications and finalized their funding decisions at a meeting on Dec. 12 in Dover.
“Once again, this was a very competitive application process. The panel worked diligently to consider the merits of each facility that applied,” said Sen. Walsh. “The facilities receiving funding play an integral role in encouraging out-of-state visitation and positively impacting our economy. We will continue to encourage visitation through the fund, ensuring that sporting event operators think of Delaware when looking for states to host their tournaments and other competitions in.”
“The fund supports our facilities, encouraging them to expand and attract top sporting events throughout the year as the sports tourism industry grows in our state,” said Rep. Heffernan. “By providing financial support to these facilities, we can make certain that large sports events will continue to attract visitors who will spend money at local businesses, boost our economy and promote Delaware as an ideal destination.”
The facilities receiving funding through the Sports Tourism Capital Investment Fund are:
- Factory Sports ($577,000), to construct two additional basketball courts, two volleyball courts, and six pickleball courts in order to host larger and more frequent tournaments at their facility in Frankford.
- Hudson Fields ($1,123,000), to take initial steps to modernize the facility in Milton by upgrading nine outdoor playing fields, installing two turf soccer fields, and improving seven existing grass fields to tournament standards.
- Bethany Tennis Club ($3,800,000), to build a new structure with multiple interior courts and social gathering spaces to attract year-round events for tennis, pickleball, and padel sports at their Ocean View facility.
- Dover Motor Speedway ($500,000), to implement upgrades to the facility allowing it to continue hosting large-scale events with new paving, elevator upgrades, Infield Media Center refurbishments, and an improved audio system.
- Kirkwood Sports Complex ($4,000,000), to make enhancements to the New Castle facility by upgrading parking infrastructure and expanding parking with 300 additional spots, installing artificial turf on five sports fields, and lighting five turf fields.
On Nov. 15, the Delaware Tourism Office released a sports tourism economic impact study completed by Tourism Economics. The study showed that the sports tourism sector’s direct spending impact in Delaware was $257.9 million in 2023. Those sales supported more than 3,000 part-time and full-time jobs and generated $20.2 million in state and local taxes.
“The recent economic impact study confirmed that sports tourism is a significant economic driver in our state, attracting millions of visitors to Delaware each year and generating millions of dollars in revenue,” said Jessica Welch, director of the Delaware Tourism Office. “We are pleased to be able to support nine different facilities, through the first and second rounds of the capital investment fund, in their expansion efforts and ensure that Delaware offers top-notch sports facilities to event operators and visitors.”
The Delaware Tourism Office, a division of the Delaware Division of Small Business, promotes tourism and economic growth in Delaware. For more information, visit the official Delaware Tourism website at www.visitdelaware.com or call toll-free at 866-284-7483.
###
Media Contact:
Allyson Ennis
Allyson.Ennis@Delaware.gov
Related Topics: Delaware Tourism Office, Sports Tourism, Sports Tourism Capital Investment Fund, tourism
Keep up to date by receiving a daily digest email, around noon, of current news release posts from state agencies on news.delaware.gov.
Here you can subscribe to future news updates.
DOVER, Del. – Today, the Delaware Tourism Office announced Sports Tourism Capital Investment Fund awards to five Delaware sports facilities. Established through the Fiscal Year 2024 Bond and Capital Improvements Act, the fund provides financial support to new or existing sports facilities that hold events throughout the year to attract out-of-state visitors and contribute to the state and local economy.
The Delaware Tourism Office accepted applications for the fund from Aug. 1 through Sept. 13, 2024. The office received 17 applications requesting more than $47 million. Available funds totaled $10 million.
Applications were reviewed by a panel, including the co-chairs of the Joint Capital Improvement Committee, Sen. Jack Walsh and Rep. Debra Heffernan, and representatives of the Delaware Tourism Office, the Greater Wilmington Convention and Visitors Bureau, Kent County Tourism, and Southern Delaware Tourism. The panel met on Oct. 24 to begin reviewing the applications and finalized their funding decisions at a meeting on Dec. 12 in Dover.
“Once again, this was a very competitive application process. The panel worked diligently to consider the merits of each facility that applied,” said Sen. Walsh. “The facilities receiving funding play an integral role in encouraging out-of-state visitation and positively impacting our economy. We will continue to encourage visitation through the fund, ensuring that sporting event operators think of Delaware when looking for states to host their tournaments and other competitions in.”
“The fund supports our facilities, encouraging them to expand and attract top sporting events throughout the year as the sports tourism industry grows in our state,” said Rep. Heffernan. “By providing financial support to these facilities, we can make certain that large sports events will continue to attract visitors who will spend money at local businesses, boost our economy and promote Delaware as an ideal destination.”
The facilities receiving funding through the Sports Tourism Capital Investment Fund are:
- Factory Sports ($577,000), to construct two additional basketball courts, two volleyball courts, and six pickleball courts in order to host larger and more frequent tournaments at their facility in Frankford.
- Hudson Fields ($1,123,000), to take initial steps to modernize the facility in Milton by upgrading nine outdoor playing fields, installing two turf soccer fields, and improving seven existing grass fields to tournament standards.
- Bethany Tennis Club ($3,800,000), to build a new structure with multiple interior courts and social gathering spaces to attract year-round events for tennis, pickleball, and padel sports at their Ocean View facility.
- Dover Motor Speedway ($500,000), to implement upgrades to the facility allowing it to continue hosting large-scale events with new paving, elevator upgrades, Infield Media Center refurbishments, and an improved audio system.
- Kirkwood Sports Complex ($4,000,000), to make enhancements to the New Castle facility by upgrading parking infrastructure and expanding parking with 300 additional spots, installing artificial turf on five sports fields, and lighting five turf fields.
On Nov. 15, the Delaware Tourism Office released a sports tourism economic impact study completed by Tourism Economics. The study showed that the sports tourism sector’s direct spending impact in Delaware was $257.9 million in 2023. Those sales supported more than 3,000 part-time and full-time jobs and generated $20.2 million in state and local taxes.
“The recent economic impact study confirmed that sports tourism is a significant economic driver in our state, attracting millions of visitors to Delaware each year and generating millions of dollars in revenue,” said Jessica Welch, director of the Delaware Tourism Office. “We are pleased to be able to support nine different facilities, through the first and second rounds of the capital investment fund, in their expansion efforts and ensure that Delaware offers top-notch sports facilities to event operators and visitors.”
The Delaware Tourism Office, a division of the Delaware Division of Small Business, promotes tourism and economic growth in Delaware. For more information, visit the official Delaware Tourism website at www.visitdelaware.com or call toll-free at 866-284-7483.
###
Media Contact:
Allyson Ennis
Allyson.Ennis@Delaware.gov
Related Topics: Delaware Tourism Office, Sports Tourism, Sports Tourism Capital Investment Fund, tourism
Keep up to date by receiving a daily digest email, around noon, of current news release posts from state agencies on news.delaware.gov.
Here you can subscribe to future news updates.
Delaware
St. Georges basketball standout wins Week 2 Delaware Online Athlete of the Week voting, presented by Delaware Orthopaedic Specialists
Delaware high school basketball: Watch St. Georges edge Howard 58-57
Joshua Obiora scored with 23 seconds left and St. Georges successfully defended Howard’s final shot for a 58-57 win in the Hammer and Nail tourney final.
Congratulations to Joshua Obiora of St. Georges boys basketball, the Delaware Online Athlete of the Week for Week 2 of the winter season.
The junior scored 44 points, grabbed 48 rebounds and had 10 assists in wins over Conrad, Delcastle and Howard.
Obiora won an online vote over four other nominees.
Athlete of the Week voting will take a break over the holidays, but will return in the first week of 2025. Check out the nominees each Monday on Delaware Online and vote for your favorite.
Voting is free and runs Monday through Thursday, with the weekly winner announced each Friday.
The weekly poll is presented by Delaware Orthopaedic Specialists.
Contact Brad Myers at bmyers@delawareonline. Follow on X: @BradMyersTNJ. Follow us on Instagram: @DEGameDay
The Office of the Delaware State Bank Commissioner has approved Capital One’s $35.3bn acquisition of digital banking and payment services company Discover Financial Services and its subsidiary, Discover Bank.
This approval marks a key step towards completing the merger. The deal, valued at $35.3bn, was initially announced in February 2024.
At close, shareholders of Capital One will own around 60% and Discover shareholders will own nearly 40% of the merged entity.
The deal is expected to create the sixth largest bank in the US by assets and a global payments platform at scale.
Planned to be completed in early 2025, the transaction awaits approval by the shareholders of both companies, as well as the Federal Reserve Board and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
As part of the acquisition, shareholders of Discover Financial Services will receive 1.0192 Capital One shares for each share held.
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Capital One founder, chairman and CEO Richard Fairbank said: “Through this combination, we’re creating a company that is exceptionally well-positioned to create significant value for consumers, small businesses, merchants, and shareholders as technology continues to transform the payments and banking marketplace.”
In July 2024, Capital One unveiled a five-year, $265bn community benefits plan tied to the acquisition.
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McRib sandwich becomes crime fighting tool for Delco officer
A tense encounter for a Delaware County police officer who used an unusual but tasty method to help a disabled man get the help he needed.
PROSPECT PARK, Pa. – A tense encounter for a Delaware County police officer who used an unusual but tasty method to help a disabled man get the help he needed.
The crime fighting tool? A McDonald’s McRib sandwich.
“He was a little bit excited when we got there,” explained Prospect Park Police officer Samuel Willis, when he was dispatched to Witmer Memorial Field for a man causing a disturbance Wednesday afternoon.
Willis didn’t know what to expect when he arrived.
“It was a subject with disabilities and also suffered with some mental health problems,” he said.
Willis says the disabled man, who was with two aides, was in severe mental distress and yelling. But, instead of responding with handcuffs, a stun gun or a gun, Officer Willis offered the man a meal.
“I asked him if I would be able to get him a McRib and maybe some fries, if that would be able to defuse the situation,” explained Willis.
Willis hopped in his patrol car and drove to McDonald’s on Lincoln Avenue to buy the man a McRib sandwich, fries and a chocolate milkshake. He went back to the park and delivered the meal along with some frank conversation.
“I was able to go back, bring the food to him. You know, kind of sit him down and be like ‘Hey listen, you need to treat your aides with respect,’” said Officer Willis.
And that’s all it took. A boneless pork patty smothered in barbecue sauce with a side of compassion.
“At the end of the day, the least force outcome is the best,” added Willis.
His boss, who trains de-escalation techniques, says the interaction was a veteran move by the officer with about two years with the Department.
“I’m extremely impressed by what he did. I’m extremely proud of what he did. You know, it speaks well for the entire police department and I couldn’t be happier with the results,” said Prospect Park Police Chief Dave Madonna.
It turns out, even McDonald’s got into the act. Once they heard the officer was helping someone in need they donated the meal. “I’m really happy to hear that our food can make a difference in somebody’s day,” said McDonald’s manager, Alexis King.
The man was eventually able to get the help he needed and get home safely. As for the limited time sandwich helping law enforcement?
“Hopefully they’ll keep it on the menu longer,” said Madonna.
According to McDonald’s website, the McRib will only be available until January 28th, 2025.
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